OpenAI’s long-awaited surprise has finally arrived – the official iOS app for ChatGPT. Their renowned AI chatbot has hit the App Store with a bang! In response to the flood of unofficial and questionable alternatives, OpenAI has taken matters into its own hands, delivering an extraordinary mobile experience to users. And the best part? It’s completely free and ad-free!

But that’s not all – OpenAI has pulled out all the stops to ensure your convenience and satisfaction. With the incorporation of voice input functionality, you can now have dynamic and natural exchanges with ChatGPT, giving your mobile experience a new level of immersion and excitement.

The initial release is limited to users within the United States; however, OpenAI has promised a future expansion, so everyone around the world can join in on the fun. On the other hand, a version for Android devices is teased as being in development and coming soon!

The ChatGPT app provides users with the ability to interact with an AI chatbot for various purposes, such as asking questions, seeking advice, finding inspiration, learning, and conducting research. Considering the challenges with Siri and Apple’s limited progress in AI, the new release may attract more users to rely on ChatGPT as their primary mobile assistant.

Additionally, this launch could potentially affect Google, as it currently benefits from being the default search engine on Apple’s iPhone through Safari.

The mobile version of ChatGPT offers a convenient feature of syncing your search history across devices. This means that the app remembers your past searches from the web interface and allows you to access them. The app incorporates Whisper, OpenAI’s open-source speech recognition system, enabling voice input functionality.

OpenAI has announced that ChatGPT Plus subscribers will have the opportunity to utilize the capabilities of GPT-4 through the new app. In addition to faster response time, subscribers will also gain early access to upcoming features. The subscription plan, launched in February, is priced at $20 per month and provides users with upgraded features, including access to ChatGPT even during high-demand periods.

According to an article by Semafor, rumors suggested that OpenAI was developing a mobile client, although the company did not provide any official comments at the time.

The launch of the ChatGPT app coincides with a period where major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are actively exploring AI technologies. In fact, Google and Microsoft have even integrated AI capabilities into their search engines, with Microsoft’s involvement being facilitated through a costly partnership with OpenAI.

The introduction of ChatGPT as a standalone mobile app has the potential to disrupt the current norms of how people use their phones to search for and access information, bypassing the need for a search engine or browser.

OpenAI’s mobile app offers a distinct advantage over the search app’s AI integrations by being ad-free. OpenAI subtly mentions this in their blog post, emphasizing that users can obtain immediate answers “without having to navigate through ads or multiple search results.” This statement indirectly highlights the inclusion of ads in Bing Chat, powered by AI, which can be seen as a slight snub towards search engines.

The app store description of ChatGPT emphasizes its add-free experience, along with features such as history syncing and access to the latest OpenAI models. Interestingly, this release coincides with Google’s recent announcement at the Google I/O developer conference, where they introduced Bard, their own AI chatbot, which is now accessible in English.

Recent findings from app store intelligence provider data.ai indicate a notable consumer demand for ChatGPT and AI on the phone. By late March, the top 10 mobile AI apps had collectively generated more than $14 million in consumer spending this year. Furthermore, the average daily spending by consumers has increased by 11% compared to February.

All in all, the launch of the ChatGPT app by OpenAI for mobile devices marks a significant development in the AI landscape. With its promise of ad-free browsing, history syncing, and access to the latest OpenAI models, the app aims to provide users with a seamless and efficient AI-powered experience.

As the mobile app market continues to evolve, the introduction of ChatGPT has the potential to reshape how users search for information and interact with AI-powered assistants on their mobile devices.